Approach:
Twenty-four lines of tall fescue will be evaluated for forage yield and persistence. Seed of each line will be drilled into 1.2-m by 5-m plots at the rate of 10 kg/ha of pure live seed and irrigated to initiate germination and growth of the tall fescue seeds. The 24 lines will be sown into four randomized blocks. Irrigation will only be used during the first year of the experiment to ensure plant establishment. All plots will be fertilized in early March with urea (46-0-0) at the rate of 67 kg/ha of nitrogen. When tall fescue plants reach the boot stage of growth a 1.2-m by 4-m area of each plot will be harvested using a sickle-bar harvester. The harvested material will be weighted fresh, and a 250-300g sample will be collected, weighted, and dried for dry-matter determination. Plots will be visually scored for plant persistence prior to harvest using a 1-to-10 rating scale where a score of 1 represents a 0-10% plant stand loss; a score of 2 represents an 11-20% plant stand loss through a score of 10 which represents a 91-100% plant stand loss. The duration of the experiment will be five years or until 75% of the lines fail to persist. Data will be provided to The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation for analysis.